


Into the Fire

by needle428



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 05:02:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12005583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/needle428/pseuds/needle428
Summary: Set after the events of season 7. Jon's paternity has been revealed at Winterfell and Arya and Dany come to an understanding.





	Into the Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into the Game of Thrones fandom and I'm a bit out of practice with writing these days so you'll have to forgive any errors. For now, this may just be a one-shot, but it could turn into something lengthier. For some reason I feel like Arya and Dany would get along and that their feelings for Jon might drive them to be allies.

In the common room of the Great Keep, Daenerys stood rigid against the flames of the hearth. The day's revelations weighed heavily on her and at hours like this she wished for that girl in Pentos from long ago - whose greatest fear was her brother's wrath and greatest hope a yearning to belong. Things were so much more complicated now.

Absentmindedly, she passed her hand through the wisps of flame, letting her fingers wrap around and through the tendrils that escaped, listening to the crackle.

"Doesn't that hurt?" The voice of Arya Stark came from the darkness, her footfalls silent. The omission of 'your grace' was no accident.

Dany shrugged and held her gaze to the flame. "I have the blood of the Dragon. Fire cannot harm me."

Arya rolled her eyes, "That's not really what I asked."

Dany turned to look at her visitor. She expected to see some measure of contempt - it was certainly visible in the controlled welcome she'd received from her older sister earlier in the day - but instead she only saw curiosity. So she answered honestly. "Only a little. Have you ever cut your finger on a slip of parchment or been scrubbed a touch too hard in a bath? I can feel it, but the pain is only on the surface."

Arya nodded and stepped up to the flame. She passed her hand quickly over the tallest wisps and closed her fist as she felt the burn. She smiled faintly. "It's powerful - the flame. Does it make you feel strong?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes it just reminds me that I'm the last." Dany laughed at the irony. "Or was the last."

They stood in silence, just watching the wood burn and Dany thought Arya might fade into the background as quietly as she first appeared. But then she spoke again.

"The others think that you're a threat to us. That as soon as this war with the Night King is waged, you'll challenge our King and what's left of our people. You'll conquer the realm as other Targaryans have and leave ash in your wake."

"And what do _you_ think?" Dany couldn't quite keep the edge out of her voice. Up until a few hours ago, conquering the realm was her birthright. Now it felt like a little girl's fantasy.

"I think we all might die fighting the Night King and when it's done, if we survive, we'll be too tired to worry about who gets to sit in that oversized rusted chair made of swords." Arya's eyes danced as they locked on the Dragon Queen's and held.

Seconds passed. Then suddenly, both burst out laughing, like the young girls they once were. "My god your bloody right. None of this will matter, will it?"

Arya eventually sobered and shook her head. "No. But for what it's worth, I've never known Jon to beak an oath. He's loyal to a fault. He'll never challenge your right to rule."

Dany dropped her eyes to the floor and sighed. "Perhaps not by choice. But like he said when we first met, the North will never bow to a southern ruler. Especially not now, with a Northerner who has a right to the claim."

Arya stared into the flames again and Dany shifted to watch her. After a moment she spoke.

"Jon was a Northern bastard, destined for the Wall, turned into a King. Sansa was to be a Queen and instead became a pawn in a game she didn't know how to play, sold to the highest bidder. I had dreams of being a knight, only to find myself in the halls of the Faceless Men learning to be an assassin. None of us are what we thought we would be. All we could do was survive."

Arya looked again at her fair haired companion. "You are not so different from us. You survived your circumstances. And you've done things that aim to make the realm a better place. Jon respects you and that means something. Now, you and your Dragon's are fighting a war that, without your help, would be over before it started. When this is over, show the North what kind of Queen you'll be and let them choose their path. If you give them time, and show them trust, they'll come around."

Dany wasn't convinced that it would be so simple but there were more pressing things to worry about so she nodded and went back to watching the fire. She wondered, not for the first time, where Jon was now.

They stood in companionable silence a few moments more before Arya shifted away. Her last words floated through the darkness.

"Goodnight, Your Grace."


End file.
